The 17th-ranked New York University men's basketball team led from start to finish en route to defeating Case Western Reserve University 89-80 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play on Sunday, January 29, at the Coles Sports Center in Manhattan.
 
The win got the Violets (15-2, 5-2) back on the winning track two days after suffering just their second loss of the season. It also helped them keep pace near the top of the UAA standings at the halfway point of the conference schedule; Washington University defeated #4 Emory University 99-88, leaving the Bears alone in first place with a one-game lead over second-place NYU and a two-game edge over the Eagles.
 
The Violets scored 89 points – the same total they had in victories against Emory and Washington – with their best performance from three-point range of the season. NYU converted on 10 of its 16 three-point attempts, shooting a season-high 62.5% from beyond the arc. Kyle Stockmal led the way from deep, going 3-4, while Ryan Tana and Ben Dorman each sank two triples apiece.
 
The Violets also doled out a season-high-tying 27 assists, with four players – Tana, Stockmal, Carl Yaffe, and Andy Stein – each recording at least five helpers. Overall, NYU shot 54.2% (32-59) from the field in the victory.
 
The Violets went up big early and led by as much as 19 late in the game before the Spartans (8-10, 0-7) caught fire from three, getting as close as six in the final minute. It was too little too late, however, as NYU held off the late push.
 
"They're a good shooting team, and we took them out of a lot of the stuff they wanted to run," said Violet head coach Joe Nesci. "The key was our defense early on. Most of their points came late when they made a lot of threes."
 
NYU outscored Case 20-8 to start the game, with Stein scoring eight of those points and assisting on a give-and-go that Yaffe threw down with a baseline dunk.
 
An Austin Fowler three pulled the Spartans to within 10 at 34-24 before a 6-0 run during which Stein, Devin Karch and Dorman all hit layups, putting the Violets up 16. NYU took a 13-point lead, 45-32, into halftime after another Yaffe dunk and a Stockmal three in the final minute of the period.
 
The lead swelled to 19 after another Stein layup with 9:57 to play in regulation, but Case began its run in the final five minutes with the first of six three-pointers. Robert Scott's trifecta with 50.9 left pulled the Spartans to within six, 86-80, but Yaffe went 1-2 at the line and Tana 2-2 to seal the victory.
 
Stein finished with 25 points and five assists to lead the Violets. Tana tallied 13 points and seven assists, while Stockmal had 13 points, six assists and three steals. Max Wein also scored in double figures with a season-high 11 points, while Yaffe recorded seven points, eight rebounds, six assists, and three blocks.
 
Fowler posted a double-double for Case with 26 points and 13 boards. David Thompson recorded 15 points and seven rebounds, while Tom Summers (13 points) and Dane McLoughlin (11 points) also scored in double figures.
 
NYU returns to action with a UAA road trip to Pittsburgh and Cleveland next weekend. The Violets tip-off at 8:00 pm at Carnegie Mellon University on Friday and 12:00 pm at Case on Sunday.